Starting School – Choosing the Right Lunchbox

Standing at the front door, taking a photo of my daughter on her first day of Kindergarten, I think I was more excited than my daughter! Perhaps it was because she would be attending my Primary school and my Kindergarten classroom. For me it was a nostalgic trip down memory lane! For her, it was a big step into the world of being a big girl! Leaving her baby brother at home and going off to school was exciting for both of us!

At Kindy Orientation Day I asked two important questions. Do we pack our own lunches for the children: YesDo we need to bring morning tea and afternoon tea: Our Kindy it was provided by the school – they will have fruit time in the morning and crackers and cheese in the afternoon. I found out that other schools request you bring a piece of fruit to share for morning tea. Children want to eat a quick lunch and then play!

Making the same lunch every day can be a bit tedious – especially since we have approximately 200 days of school a year. Times that by 8 primary school years (including Pre-Primary and Kindergarten) That is approximately 1500 school lunches we need to make in our children’s primary school life.

Mixing it up a little with a different lunchbox or sandwich cutters can help make the school lunches fun, healthy and inviting to eat every day!

My top tips I learnt when my daughter went to Kindy which I carried on through now we are heading into Year 2 for my daughter and Year 1 for my son next year.

How to choose the right lunchbox?Are they a nibbler? Do they like lots of little things – then the more compartments the better! Like the Yumbox Original or the Little Lunchbox Bento Five – both leakproof inside lunchboxes.

Or do they like sandwiches every day? Yumbox Panino or the Little Lunchbox Three – both leakproof inside lunchboxes.

If you don’t need it to be leakproof – the EasyLunchboxes (set of 4) is a great 3 compartment lunchbox that will suit all ages.

Morning Tea ContainerEnsure you have a good Morning Tea container – Yumbox Mini or Little Lunchboxes Two are great for fruit, cheese and crackers and dips.

Crunch and Sip (Fruit time)This is just a small piece of fruit they will eat either in the morning or late afternoon. Little Bento World’s Freezable Lid Containers are great as you pop the lid in the freezer to keep the container cool all day!

Insulated Lunchbag Choose an insulated lunchbag that will hold an icepack, lunchbox and morning tea (if you need to have your morning tea chilled), to keep everything cool for several hours. The Fridge To Go or Animal Friends Insulated Lunchbags are popular ones to hold more than two containers.

Water Bottles Choose an easy to open but leak-proof water bottle. In summer months add ice cubes or freeze and wrap in a tea towel.

Pack leftovers straight into the lunchbox the night before (corn cobs, pasta).

Cut food into appropriate bite size pieces to encourage maximum food is eaten in the limited time they get eat.

The very last and most important tip on Lunchboxes!Ensure they can open and close their lunchbox – as lunches won’t get eaten if they can’t open their lunchbox. Sit them on the ground and practice before school starts!

This article was written by Yvette Bowyer who owns Little Bento World. She has two children in Primary School and has been making fun healthy bento lunches for the last 6 years. She even makes them for herself when she heads into her Little Bento retail shop in Bibra Lake. If you ever feel overwhelmed when it comes to school lunches head over to her Facebook or Instagram pages and see the daily lunchbox ideas!!